280,000 New Zealanders waiting for surgery, wait times up
Independent research shows the number of New Zealanders waiting for elective surgery remains at 2013 levels, despite
increases to both public and private health funding.
The research by TNS New Zealand, commissioned by the Health Funds Association (HFANZ) and the Private Surgical Hospitals
Association (NZPSHA), found 110,000 New Zealanders were on official waiting lists, but a further 170,000 had not been
placed on waiting lists despite being told they required elective surgery.
These numbers were consistent with the findings of a similar 2013 study, although higher than figures cited recently by
the Ministry of Health.
HFANZ chief executive Roger Styles said the new TNS research gave a better picture of overall unmet surgical need
because it counted both referred and un-referred need, whereas official figures don’t yet count people who need surgery
but haven’t been referred by their GP.
“Of particular concern is the increase observed in overall waiting times – particularly for those who have yet to have
their surgery. These are up by 80 days to an average 304 days, with virtually all of these waiting for public surgery,”
he said.
For those who had had surgery, when split between public and private there was a big difference in average wait times.
Those having private surgery faced a 76 day wait, while those having public surgery waited 177 days.
Styles said it was important that there was good information on actual waiting list numbers and times, and was confident
that official estimates could be improved in time to provide a more reliable picture.
When it came to solutions to growing surgical need, Styles said there was no silver bullet, and simply spending more
public money was not the answer.
“We need to be thinking smarter about how we use both public and private resources to get the best healthcare outcomes.
We know that with the right framework, we could be getting more out of private healthcare, and this in turn would free
up public resources to better meet health needs.”
He said the private healthcare sector already funded and delivered more than 150,000 elective surgeries each year, with
the capacity to increase this significantly.
“The private healthcare sector is keen to engage with Government on making healthcare funding more sustainable. There
are opportunities to deliver significant health benefits which need not involve fiscal cost, and may even save
government money,” Styles said.